After hearing a few sound samples over at BuySoundtrax.com, I decided to take a chance on this sweeping epic score by the prolific yet vastly underrated John Scott. Man, did I make the right choice...

To anyone who is a fan of the full-blooded lyricism of Poledouris' CONAN scores and FLESH + BLOOD, you owe it to yourself to give this one a whirl. It won't be coming out of my CD player for quite a while... it's that good.

Can anyone else recommend more, similar sturm-und-drang, thunderously romantic works... stuff along the lines of the aforementioned Poledouris works, Shore's LORD OF THE RINGS, Germinal Tenas' LE BATARD DE DIEU, and so on? These are my favorite kinds of scores, and I am always on the lookout for the hidden gems out there.

Antony and Cleopatra is the score that got me into John Scott! Its a little repetitive but its a majestic work. Unfortunetly I couldn't find any other simular scores by John Scott. But he has lots of scores with Romantic-like Themes. Like "Becoming Colete".

My second favorite Scott score and recomendation is "Far from Home: Adventures of Yellow Dog", and then "Walking Thunder" and I think "Ruby" is heavily under rated. But I believe his most popular is "Final Countdown" and "Lionheart" because the incredible main themes themes.

Mr. Scott always writes those full-blown scores that don't sound like anyone else, always have indelible things to say about human beings, are exhilaratingly dramatic, and are incredibly subtle too.... I was listening to Antony and Cleopatra last weekend. I know some of the cues are so fused with the situation it feels like getting hit-- I wonder if this is what leads some to think John Scott is "bombastic"-- i.e., not chilled out.

Bumping this old thread because... well, obvious reasons. This is easily one of Scott's best and probably features his best overall theme. I don't think even John Barry can touch the overture from this. Its lush, bombastic and incredibly tender and pained. Lord knows how Scott managed to create something so powerful, but let us all be thankful he did.

I will admit that I perfer the Silva recording of the overture to the one found on the JOS album, if only because the recording seems to be closer mic'd and has a little bit more "umph" to it.

Another John Scott score to consider is to the vastly underrated film The Final Countdown.It has one of the best themes i have ever heard and it as its most powerful during the end credits.One more Scott score to consider is William The Conquerer.That one also has a powerful main theme.

I love the A&C score & have the Jos CD (which I believe is the original soundtrack recording), but I'm not too keen on the sound. It has a far away unfocused quality. I don't know what is is, but it doesn't sound right.

I love the A&C score & have the Jos CD (which I believe is the original soundtrack recording), but I'm not too keen on the sound. It has a far away unfocused quality. I don't know what is is, but it doesn't sound right.

I'm sort of with you on that. I think the quality of the music surpasses the sound its self - but yes, I have heard better.

My John Scott journey continues. From past reading, this score tends to appear at the top of most John Scott faves lists. Even Mr JS himself alludes to this in the liner notes of the CD (although he also states he thinks Greystoke and Shergar are equally as good). Like the Jerry Fielding party, I'm turning up late...again, but finding there's still plenty of time to get drunk on the atmosphere and sounds! I always loved Greystoke, King Kong Lives and Man On Fire from my old LP's, but never really followed up on John Scott* when I was buying stuff like a crazy man (that would be Williams, Goldsmith, Horner, Barry, Morricone, Jarre, Donaggio, Bernstein, Broughton, Holdridge, Elfman, Doyle, JNH amo). So now I'm starting down the John Scott road (who I got to chat with in Ubeda some years past and he is indeed a lovely English gentleman) and I finally gave this CD a spin. WOW! I think I've mentioned before that I feel Scott shares some major similarities with Jerry Goldsmith. Not only on their career path/choices, but also a stylistic likeness that comes through in the music. Listening to this score, I can't help but be reminded of scores like Papillon, QBVII, The Sand Pebbles and Masada. Not similar themes or anything, just that haunting and desolate feel to the music that strokes the heart like an ice maiden. At times, Scott seems to take the brilliance and architecture of Goldsmith and marry it to the simple, yet beautiful sweep of John Barry! I have to say The Barge She Sat In is one of the best tracks I've heard in the past 20 years! Also, a quick question. The Overture. It's too long to have been used before, during or after the film (I think) so where does it feature or is it just something Scott recorded after and used to open this CD? Thanks.

*I have remedied this and have plenty of John Scott soundtracks to listen to in the near future. I will report back with my thoughts on them, either in existing threads or BRAND NEW ones!

Too bad it accompanies such a stodgy, plodding movie. (You'd think, considering the subject matter, that the movie would have more of a sense of pace. Go figure. And there really doesn't seem to be that much chemistry between the leads. Heston is probably similar to the historical Antony, who was pretty blunt and ego-driven, and not remotely as clever as his former mentor, Julius Caesar, but Hildegard Neill is way out of her depth in Shakespeare. She has a kind of remote beauty, but none of the acting chops for the role, which is one of Shakespeare's most challenging.)

But the music is wonderful.

(Another good filmed version of the same material stars Richard Johnson, of KHARTOUM, as Antony, and Janet Suzman, Alexandra of NICHOLAS AND ALEXANDRA, who have much more chemistry and skill. Not to mention STAR TREK's Patrick Stewart, back when he had hair, playing Enobarbus. Much better for the drama, though without that great score.)

My John Scott journey continues. From past reading, this score tends to appear at the top of most John Scott faves lists. Even Mr JS himself alludes to this in the liner notes of the CD (although he also states he thinks Greystoke and Shergar are equally as good). Like the Jerry Fielding party, I'm turning up late...again, but finding there's still plenty of time to get drunk on the atmosphere and sounds! I always loved Greystoke, King Kong Lives and Man On Fire from my old LP's, but never really followed up on John Scott* when I was buying stuff like a crazy man (that would be Williams, Goldsmith, Horner, Barry, Morricone, Jarre, Donaggio, Bernstein, Broughton, Holdridge, Elfman, Doyle, JNH amo). So now I'm starting down the John Scott road (who I got to chat with in Ubeda some years past and he is indeed a lovely English gentleman) and I've finally give this CD a spin. WOW! I think I've mentioned before that I feel Scott shares some major similarities with Jerry Goldsmith. Not only on their career path/choices, but also a sylistic likeness that comes through in the music. Listening to this score, I can't help but be reminded of scores like Papillon, QBVII, The Sand Pebbles and Masada. Not similar themes or anything, just that haunting and desolate feel to the music that strokes the heart like an ice maiden. At times, Scott seems to take the brilliance and architecture of Goldsmith and marry it to the simple, yet beautiful sweep of John Barry! I have to say The Barge She Sat In is one of the best tracks I've heard in the past 20 years! Also, a quick question. The Overture. It's too long to have been used before, during or after the film (I think) so where does it feature or is it just something Scott recorded after and used to open this CD? Thanks.

*I have remedied this and have plenty of John Scott soundtracks to listen to in the near future. I will report back with my thoughts on them, either in existing threads or BRAND NEW ones!

A may your next journey take you to a score called Ruby on Intrada records.